


The One Who Understands

by UndeadRobby



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Videogames, basically rich feels bad abt treating jeremy like shit, but jeremy forgives him bc he understands what having the squip is like, if you don't read Rich's lines with a lisp I'm sorry but you're wrong, jerich, like very very light angst idk if it's even appropriate to call it that, richemy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 18:03:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12846576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadRobby/pseuds/UndeadRobby
Summary: Rich doesn't ask for forgiveness, but Jeremy is more than prepared to give it.





	The One Who Understands

After everything that had happened, never in a million years did Rich think that he’d be in Jeremy Heere’s house, playing videogames with him like they’d been friends forever.

It was surreal, Rich thought, to be sitting in that beanbag chair, where Michael had always sat before him. _Still did_ , Rich reminded himself. Most of the time he’d play with both of them, and sit on the floor next to them.

Not that he minded.

He almost preferred it, sometimes, because there was always the feeling that he didn’t really belong, that he shouldn’t be sitting in that chair, that he wasn’t good enough for it. Hell, it was more than a feeling. He knew it was true. What right did he have, after he practically ruined Jeremy’s life?

_Not practically. Literally._

He’d bullied and tormented the poor kid for the better part of a year and a half, between the beginning of Sophomore year and partway through Junior year. He’s the whole reason Jeremy got the Squip in the first place – the reason Jeremy can’t jerk off anymore, the reason he can’t watch The Matrix, the reason he flinches when someone goes for a high five, the reason Michael doesn’t quite look at him the same way he used to, the reason-

“Dammit! We were _so_ close- …Rich?” A voice startled him out of his thoughts. He noticed the death grip he had on the controller, and took a deep breath, relaxing a little and dropping it into his lap.

The Game Over screen blinked bright red on the TV.

“Uh, fuck, sorry Jer, I guess got distracted.”

“You okay, dude?”

“Uh, yeah, of course,” he picked the controller back up, “let’s keep going?”  

Jeremy set his own controller down. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

_God dammit._

“C’mon, Jeremy, I promise, it’s not important, okay? It’s just my stupid brain, telling me stupid shit, like always.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you. You’re my friend, Rich, I care about you.

Rich bit his lip, and sat on his hands to keep himself from picking at his scars, a nervous habit he’d picked up since leaving the hospital. “You should hate me, Jeremy,” Rich began, taking a shaky breath, “like, I’m the reason your life’s been a living hell all of high school. I put you down and put you down, and just when you were at your lowest, _I_ gave you that fucking Squip-“

“Rich, we’ve talked about this, I’ve forgiven you-“

“But _why_ Jeremy? You can’t tell me _why!_ I don’t deserve your forgiveness, dude, I _ruined your fucking life_! How can you say you forgive me, after everything? You can’t say that everything that happened after you got the damn thing wasn’t my fault!”

Jeremy looked away. _Here it comes,_ thought Rich. _He’s gonna realize I’m a piece of shit and he’s gonna throw me out of his house and we can all stop pretending._ Rich bit back tears.

“Rich... you did some awful things to me. I’m not going to ever pretend that you didn’t.” Rich opened his mouth to respond, but seeing the determined look in Jeremy’s eyes made the words die in his throat. “But you had that thing, the Squip, way, _way_ longer than I ever did. I know better than _anyone_ else at school who got Squipped what it does to you, over time, so I’m probably the only one who understands what you’ve been through. _I_ did things under its influence I never would have done on my own – ditching Michael, and Brooke, giving one to Jenna without even telling her what it was or what it would do, taking dad’s car, I- I can only _imagine_ what that thing was doing inside you. You burnt down a house! You _don’t_ have to apologize, Rich. You did what it told you to do. That was all you could do.”

Rich didn’t realize he’d started crying until he found Jeremy practically on top of him, wiping his eyes for him. He fought the instinct to push him off, and focused on calming down, on Jeremy, still here after everything, the only person he could really, truly call a friend. He pulled him into a tight hug. Jeremy hugged him back, and Rich thought he could stay like this forever – until Jeremy squirmed a little in his arms.

“Rich, you’re, you’re kind of crushing me”

Rich let go immediately, blushing.  

“Fuck, dude, sorry!”

Jeremy was blushing too.

“No, it’s, it’s okay, uh, do you w-wanna go back to p-playing games now?”

“Yeah, man, I’m so ready to kick your ass!”

“This game is co-op!”

“I’m still gonna get a better score than you.”

“Oh, we’ll see about that, Richard.”

“Is that how we’re gonna play this, Jeremiah?”

“You fucking bet.”  

Both boys, smiling again, found their respective controllers, and Jeremy plopped back into his own beanbag, queuing up the level they’d been working on. Rich watched him, and after a moment of careful consideration, he stood, and sat right next to Jeremy on the other boy’s beanbag chair. Jeremy flushed bright red once again. “I- w- uh, what-?”

“Sitting in Michael’s chair doesn’t feel right. This though, this feels perfect.” He grinned at Jeremy, hoping the other boy couldn’t see that he was blushing too.

Jeremy grinned back. “Y-y’know, I, I think so too. This feels right.”

By the end of the night, Jeremy had fallen asleep against Rich’s shoulder, and Rich knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to wake him so he could go home.

Not that he minded.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Please leave me any feedback you have, I'm always trying to improve my writing :)


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